Casa Mexico — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I had high expectations, with the vaunted titles of award winning barbecoa, and authentic Latino flavor for South Philly Barbecoa. I was sadly disappointed in the food offering, service, and overall environment. The $50 spent here was worth it to avoid this place at all costs in the future.👻 Finding the place is a task unto itself, since they advertise themselves as “South Philly Barbecoa” The only thing that says South Philly Barbecoa is a small 8x11 paper sign on the front door😂😂😂 Otherwise the business signs and advertising is listed as CASA Mexico👀 Not sure if they have an identity crisis or just double booking for the I.R.S. Kind of weird, but whatever……, after asking around was able to get directions from other business next to them lol. On entry you’re greeted by the suffocating and blistering wall of heat that screams owners don’t want to run the air conditioners. STAFF DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH!!! Not a single one was able to take an order from my English speaking “Anglo” friends As a fluent Spanish speaker this was not a deal breaker for me, but having to translate for my party and the surrounding tables was. The salsa chip appetizer was more cheese powder mess and crumbs than edible. The 2 Mexican Bottle Coke’s I bought were lukewarm🤨Just what you want on a 98 degree day in a hotbox restaurant with bad ventilation. When we received our entree Chicken Enchiladas with salsa verde, the lettuce garnish was visibly wilted and browning floating on top of a sea of green tomatillo sauce that our 3 tiny enchiladas (smaller than mini tacos) filled with dry, flavorless chicken, was drowned in. It might have been palatable if the green salsa verde wasn’t so bitter that I had to scrape it off tiny enchiladas to even force them down. I was not the only one to notice this. When I politely tried to notify the staff in Spanish that the food was inedible. They looked at me and indifferently said they would mention it to the kitchen😭🤨😔😩😑🤢🤮 Nothing else! I paid promptly without fanfare and left with haste as we were hungry, probably since the food was left untouched for the most part. Thats after scraping off the acidly bitter salsa verde, and trying to swallow the dry bland chicken. I can only think this place appeals to white people with no real understanding of Comida Latina, because this was not it! The food portions were tiny, the flavors lacking, and in an attempt to hide the small sad plate you receive, they drown your food in bitter unappealing mush sauce. Esta comida no tiene sabor, e es muy pequeno para lo que paga a comer aqui. Save your money, go somewhere else because this place might appeal to simp yuppies with no actual understanding of Latin food, but anyone who has had good Mexican will instantly recognize this place isn’t serving it up. JUST OVERPRICED BLAND...

Let me start by saying that the food wasn't bad, but it definitely did not meet any expectations the media have created about this place.

The service was bad, our order was mixed up while the restaurant was empty.

A group of five, we ordered various tacos, a chicken mole and a ceviche. The tacos were decent but in general they were low on salt and acidity, especially the fish taco that was flat in terms of taste. The steak taco was good, the chicken taco had almost no seasoning and the chicken was a bit dry.

The chicken mole was also very low on salt, making the dish flat. The beans on the side were excellent though and the rice decent.

The tres leches was very very tasty. It differed a lot from what the restaurant advertises on instagram, meaning there seems to be no consistency with plating.

Food is about hospitality, it's about initiating people to your food culture. This requires communication. Our server was completely uncommunicative, did not write our order down, brought us chicken tacos instead of beef, and red mole instead of green mole.

Also, the old chairs in the restaurant and the intentional lack of decoration takes away from the experience. You need taste, a nice set of paints, and very little money to make such a small restaurant look good. But this one looks like a hole in the wall. Why?

The atmosphere is uninviting. The service bad, the food above average but not really to die for (besides the tres leches). Why go there again? In terms of ingredients, I believe them when they say everything is fresh and handmade. In terms of taste, everything is mediocre, which means...

Server brought two iced waters, so I told him "Oh, I don't drink water at mealtime" he then began taking BOTH waters away (mind and my partner's) I then told him "I am the one who doesn't need water. Please leave his water on the table" The server then gave me a rude look and walked away. When he returned, I ordered hot coffee like I normally do. Coffee arrived room temperature and containing TONS of sugar. I was unable to drink it. Server never bothered to ask if everything was okay.

My food was barely warm. Definitely not hot. Tortilla chips were stale and cold. Server never came back. So I told the bartender that my "hot" coffee arrived room temp and way too sweet to drink. She then told the server to get me a hot coffee without sugar. He brings it, with an attitude - and points at the sugar. I say "No thanks, I don't use sugar" he then gave me a rude look again. I then asked the server for the bill - he said he would get it. Waited a while, we even put our jackets on and he saw that, but he kept laughing at something on his mobile phone. So I walked up to him again to ask for the bill, and she seemed shocked that we were asking for it.

I wasn't going to write this review, but then the server did the following, which is comprehensively unprofessional. He hovered over my partner's head WATCHING how much he left for a tip (which was 20%) and then watched him press five stars on all levels. The server breathed a sigh of relief. Server did not care about us at ALL and we will NOT...